Women's Basketball Plays Host To Sacred Heart Saturday At Noon As Part Of NEC "Rivalry Week"

Game #22
Quinnipiac University Bobcats (9-13, 4-7 NEC) vs.
Sacred Heart University Pioneers (17-5, 10-1 NEC)
Saturday, February 6, 2010 - 12:00 p.m.
Hamden, Conn. - TD Bank Sports Center

Saturday's Game
The Quinnipiac University women's basketball team will play Sacred Heart Saturday at noon at the TD Bank Sports Center. The Bobcats and Pioneers played Thursday night in Fairfield at Sacred Heart's Pitt Center. The home-and-home series is part of the Northeast Conference's "Rivalry Week". Quinnipiac is currently ninth in the conference standings with a 4-7 NEC record (9-13 overall), while the Pioneers are tied for first with a 10-1 league mark (17-5 overall).

Scouting the Pioneers
Sacred Heart is currently tied for first with Robert Morris in the NEC with a 10-1 record in league play, and is 17-5 overall. The Pioneers have lost just one conference game in the last two seasons with the defeat coming to CCSU, 67-64, at home on Jan. 21. Sacred Heart currently has four players averaging double figures in scoring with last season's NEC Player of the Year Alisa Apo leading the way with 16.0 points per game. Third on the team in scoring at nearly 11 points per game, junior guard Maggie Cosgrove recently became the program's all-time leader in three-point field goals and is one of the nation's top shooters from downtown this season, shooting .536 from behind the arc.

Last Time Out
Quinnipiac and Sacred Heart played on Thursday night in Fairfield. The Bobcats jumped out to an early three-point lead, 5-2, but that would be the only time that they would be in control. The Pioneers jumped out and regained the lead and never looked back, cruising to the 17-point win, 51-34. Callan Taylor led her team with a double-double of 13 points and 13 boards. Kiley Evans led all scorers with 18 in the win, while last season's NEC Player of the Year Apo dropped in 15 points and added a game-high seven assists for Sacred Heart. The Pioneers lead the all-time series, 31-23.

Multimedia
Saturday's game can be heard live on AM 1220 WQUN and the WQUN.com webstream. Bill Schweizer will provide play-by-play, while Bill Mecca and Bob Tipson will add color analysis. Fans can also follow the action using live stats and a live video provided by the Bobcat Channel. Both can be accessed by clicking appropriate links above.

One More Try At Snapping This Thing
The current six-game losing streak is the longest single-season slump for the program in a decade. The last time the Bobcats dropped five straight in a season was during the 1999-2000 season. The 34 points scored on Thursday night were the fewest by a Quinnipiac team since scoring 34 at Sacred Heart on Feb. 2, 2000 in a 23-point loss.

Top of the Charts
The Bobcats rank at the top of three NEC statistical categories in 2009-10.Quinnipiac is the conference's top team in total rebounds (42.5), defensive rebounds (28.68) and blocked shots (4.32). The 42.5 rebounds are one and a half more boards per game than the next closest team in the NEC this season.

Meeting of the Free-Throw Titans (Again)
Saturday's game will mark the meeting of just more than Connecticut rivals, it will be the second of consecutive meetings between the top two free-throw shooting teams in the NEC. Entering Thursday, Sacred Heart held the slimmest of advantages over Quinnipiac, shooting .725 from the line this season, while the Bobcats trailed by just one-thousandth of a point at .724. After Quinnipiac's 9-for-9 showing Thursday, Quinnipiac leaped back up to the top spot at .729 to Sacred Heart's .722 percentage from the line.

Team Defense
Despite the six-game skid and Mount shooting 50.8 percent from the floor last Saturday, the Bobcats are still the top team in the NEC in field-goal defense. Quinnipiac is holding its opponents to an average of .358 shooting this season. The Bobcats have been ranked amongst the top teams in the nation throughout the season in this field.